This application claims the priority of German Patent Application No. 100 39 853.7, filed Aug. 10, 2000, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to an adjustable vehicle roof having a pivotable side window.
DE 43 20 468 C1 discloses a vehicle roof which can be adjusted between a closed position with an opening position with an adjusting device. The roof has a roof part lying at the top and a rear part lying in the rear region, in which case the roof part can be pivoted about a pivot axis on the rear part and the rear part can be pivoted about a further pivot axis on the vehicle bodywork. The movement of the vehicle roof between an opening position and the closed position takes place by way of an adjusting device which acts both on the rear part and on the roof part.
Also, the rear side windows are connected fixedly to the known vehicle roof and, in an opening position of the vehicle roof, are lowered into a storage space. When the roof is transferred from the closed position to the opening position, the kinematically coupled side windows are pivoted about a pivot axis on the vehicle roof and folded in the direction of the vehicle interior. The forced guidance of the side windows takes place by a coupling device which couples the movement of the side windows to the movement of the rear part. The coupling device comprises a plurality of kinematically connected linkage parts via which the pivoting movement of the rear part is converted into a pivoting movement of the side window about a further pivot axis which is not parallel to the rear-part pivot axis.
The coupling of the side-window pivoting movement to the rear-part pivoting movement requires a complicated design of the adjusting device and the coupling device together with a plurality of linkage components requiring a comparatively large amount of space. The plurality of successively connected, interacting components entails the risk of additional, uncontrollable possibilities of movement of the vehicle roof being produced on account of the intrinsic elasticity of said components or on account of play. These movement possibilities may result in undesirable stresses and leakages.
An object of the present invention is to provide and adjustable roof having a pivotable side window whose adjusting kinematics are distinguished by high precision and a small space requirement.
According to the invention, this object has been achieved by providing that an actuating is coupled on one side to the side window at a distance from the side-window rotational axis and is connected on its opposite side to a component of the adjusting device.
For the transfer of the side window between the closed position and opening position, the vehicle roof in accordance with the invention has an actuating element whose one end is coupled to the side window at a distance from the side-window pivot axis and which is connected on its opposite end fixedly to a component of the adjusting device. In this embodiment, the actuating element which triggers the forced movement of the side window is an integral component part of the adjusting device and is, in particular, connected directly to a component of the adjusting device. Thereby, the kinematic coupling for exerting the pivoting movement of the side window exists only between the side window and the adjusting device of the vehicle roof. In comparison, it is not necessary to couple the pivoting movement of the side window to a pivoting movement of a roof part. Because the components which trigger the pivoting movement of the side window can be assigned to the adjusting device, the side-window kinematics can be designed in a space-saving manner.
A further advantage resides in the fact that the components which are involved in the side-window kinematics also, because they are connected to the adjusting device, only have to bridge correspondingly short distances. As a result, problems with intrinsic elasticity in the linkage parts of the adjusting device can be avoided. The risk of undesirable play is also reduced on account of the small number of components for the side-window kinematics.
The side window has a rotational joint via which the side window is advantageously mounted pivotably on a main link of the adjusting device. Thus, so that during the transfer between the closed and storage position, the side window executes a pivoting movement about two axes with respect to the vehicle bodywork, namely both about the pivot axis of the main link and about the pivot axis of the dedicated rotational joint. This spatial movement of the side window allows the side window to be folded in the direction of the vehicle interior and, at the same time, allows it to be deposited in the rear storage space.
According to one advantageous embodiment, the kinematics of the side window comprise a connecting-link cylinder which forms an integral component together with the rotational joint of the side window and on whose circumferential surface a connecting-link path is formed in which the actuating element which triggers the pivoting of the side window engages in a sliding and positive-locking manner. The chronological sequence of the pivoting movement can be influenced via the connecting-link path. For example, phases of different pivoting speed can be provided during the transition from the closed position into the storage position and vice versa, enabling, in particular, collisions of the diverse, movable components of the vehicle roof to be avoided.
In one currently preferred development, the connecting-link path is formed spirally on the connecting-link cylinder and the movement of the actuating element in the connecting-link path only proceeds in a translational manner with regard to the side window. In this development, the pivoting movement of the side window is caused by the spiral shape of the connecting link, whereas the actuating element acting upon the connecting-link cylinder only executes a translational movement which can be produced in a structurally simple manner.
In a further currently preferred embodiment, the actuating element is a driving link which is coupled in an articulated manner to the side window, in particular to a rotational bearing plate of the side window, and at its end facing away from the side window is held rotatably in a bearing of the adjusting device. The driving link advantageously has just a single movement possibility, namely the rotational movement about its rotational axis on the bearing in the adjusting device. The rotational axis of the driving link expediently does not run parallel to the rotational axis of the side window and the rotational axis of a main link, on which the side window is mounted rotatably. This embodiment permits a kinematically determined movement of the side window, in particular a spatial pivoting movement about a total of two rotational axes with respect to the vehicle bodywork.
The driving link is advantageously connected to the side window via a ball and socket joint. Thereby, when the pivoting movement is executed during the transfer between the closed position and opening position, the longitudinal axis of the driving link can take up a changing angular position with respect to the plane of the side window.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.